Method and apparatus for making



April 1952 H. D. ADAMS 2,590,914

METfiOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING KNITTED FABRICS Filed Sept. 29, 1945 8Sheets-Sheet l Eve/71160 7. HARRY 0. ADA/7'6 fi WNW April 1952 I H. D.ADAMS 2,590,914

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING KNITTED FABRICS Filed Sept. 29, 19.45 8Sheets-Sheet 2 '7', f/A/Pfiy 0 ADAMS iy WNW.

' April 1, 1952 H. n ADAMS 2,590,914

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING KNITTED FABRICS Filed Sept. 29, 1945 8Sheets-Sheet 3 I l J3 l l I l w l I l l'i pen-or HARRY 0 ADA/V6 (arm/(WZ ale-6g April 1, 1952 H. D. ADAMS 2,590,914

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING KNITTED FABRICS Filed Sept. 29, 1945 8Sheets-Sheet 4 HARE) 0. ADA/16 M M W.

H. D. ADAMS April 1. 1952 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING KNITTEDFABRICS Filed Sept. 29, 1945 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Z 2 21267110 7. HAIR/PX 0.A014 M6 aiti 2,590,914 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING KNITTED FABRICSFiled Sept. 29, 1945 H. D. ADAMS April 1, 1952 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 HARRY.0. ADA/76 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING KNITTED FABRICS Filed Sept.29, 1945 H. D- ADAMS April 1, 1952 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 @6717607'. HARR/ADA/75 2 WK. W, a

A ril 1, 1952 H, D. ADAMS ,5

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING KNITTED FABRICS Filed Sept Q29, 1945 sSheets-Sheet a java? 6&0 7'.

Patented Apr. 1, 1952 OFFICE METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING KNITTEDFABRICS Harry 1). Adams, Allston, Mass, assignor to Joseph D. Ramsey,Watertown, Mass., in

trust Application September 29, 1945, Serial No. 619,357

18 Claims.

This invention relates to knitting, and more especially to the knittingof fine or sheer grades of natural silk and synthetic fiber fabrics foruse in stockings primari1y for womens wear.

A leading object of the invention is to provide a stocking fabric whichcan be produced economically and under commercial conditions by aknitting process, and which will be the equivalent in fineness, weightof yarns, character or pattern of stitch, and inherent elasticity orcapacity for recovery of shape, and hence-identical in appearance anduse, to the conventional plain knit womens stockings, but which differsfundamentally therefrom through the use of a stitch which cannot runwhen a thread is broken. As is well known, the basic weakness in thestandard plain knit stocking which comprises by far the preponderantstyle of hosiery worn by women is their proneness to develop runs whicheither terminate the useful life of the stockings or seriously impairtheir appearance. This results from the inherent character of the stitchused in plain knitting, in which each stitch comprises a simple loopwhich is pulled through and thus suspended from another loop and heldfrom escape from the suspending loop only by the pull of a third loop inthe Wale in question, this relationship being repeated throughout thewale. Upon fracture of the yarn at any point in a Wale, a frequentoccurrence because of the fine counts of yarn compelled to be used tosatisfy the demand for sheerness of the resulting stocking, theslightest strain on the fabric withdraws the broken'ends from theadjacent loops,=whereupon each loop 01' bend of the wale or walesinvolved in the break is in turn released so that it is pulled straightby the slightest widthwise strain onthe fabric, and in so doing simplybacks out of the adjacent loop in the wale, thus releasing such'adjacent loop to do likewise, with nothing to prevent it continuingthroughout the entire length of the wale in both directions throughoutthe entire length'of the plain knit portions of the fabric.

Many ways of overcoming this basic weakness of forming runs have beentried and proposed, practically all of which impair the desirability oftheresulting stocking through departing from the preferred plain knit inappearanceor fit or in other material ways.

The present invention aims to retain all the established desirablecharacteristics of the plain knit fabric while solving the problem ofpreventing runs, by providing an improved stitch which is the equivalentof the basic plain knit stitch in all material respects, and in additionis by the nature of its construction incapable of running.

According to the invention, in knitting the improved fabric the yarn isnot merely doubled into a loop which is pulled through a loop of thepreceding course as occurs in the wales of a plain knit fabric, butinstead the portion of yarn composing the succeeding loop in the Walepasses a full turn around the portion of yarn composing the precedingloop, with the result that no running of the loops or stitches in agiven Wale above or below the one containing a broken thread, and little.or no raveling of the course in which the break occurs, is possible,because of the immediate binding and jamming of the threads adjacent thebreak.

Other objects 'of the present invention are to devise a method forknitting the novel fabric and to provide a machine or apparatus wherebythis non-run type of knit fabric may be produced, and in particular afin or sheer knitted fabric of the gages commonly employed for womensstockings and in every way equivalent to the standard plain knitstocking fabric, in addition to having the non-run features, may be madecommercially. The manner of attainment of these aims is ,as shown in thedrawings and as set forth in the accompanying description and claims.

In the drawings:

Figs. 1 and 2 are side and front elevations respectively of a knittingmachine for producing the novel non-run knitted fabric.

Fig. 3 is a face View on a greatly enlarged scale of a portion of fabricshowing the several courses of plain knit fabric followed by one courseand part of a second course of the novel non-run stitches.

Fig. 4 shows the starting web set up on the machine needles of theneedle bank, the take-up roll, and the bobbin thread made fast to theend of the thread composing the plain knit stitches of the starting web.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a portion of the needle bank of Fig. 4, showingthe hooks on the sinkers engaging and supporting the sinker loops of theterminal course of the starting web.

Fig. 6 shows the manner of making plain knit stitches on the apparatusof Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. '7 shows the beginning of the formation of the first course ofnon-run stitches, the starting web being shown as raised into thevertical plane of the needles for clarity.

Fig. 8 is a side view of one sinker and one needle engaged in theformation of the long loop.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the needle bank.

Fig. 10 is a side elevation of a sinker, showing its working relation tothe front of the needle bank.

Fig. 11 is a perspective View of the quill bank.

Fig. 12 is a front elevation showing the quill bank in one of itspositions of adjustment, and the relation of the quills therein to thesinkers and needles.

Fig. 13 is a side elevation of the parts of Fig. 12.

Fig. 14 is a front view of a course of stitches as held by the needlesand sinkers, showing the formation of the long loop.

Fig. 15 shows three courses of non-run stitches, with the final coursesupported by the sinkers and the preceding courses lifted into the sameplane as the final course, for clarity of illustration.

Figs. 16 and 17 respectively show the drawin down of the long loop by aneedle and the widening of the lower extremity of such long loop as theneedle is raised slightly.

Fig. 18 is a front view showing how the widening of the lower extremityof the long loop enables the insertion of a hook to spread the legs ofthe loop apart.

Fig. 19 is a side view showing the long loop spread by the hook for thepassage of the bobbin therethrough.

Fig. 20 is a front View of the long loop with one leg drawn forward bythe hook, as in Fig. 19.

Fig. 21 is a front view of the long loop and adjacent loops, showing thebobbin thread forming its first bend around one leg of the long loop.

Fig. 22 shows the position of the bend of the bobbin thread of Fig. 21within the notch of the sinker.

' Fig. 23 is a side elevation showing the normal inactive position ofthe quill with respect to the sinker.

Fig. 24 is a view similar to Fig. 23 showing the relation of the sinkerand quill when the latter is locked in the lower of its two lockedpositions.

Fig. 25 shows the two locking notches on the shank of each quill, andFig. 26 shows the locking slide in cooperation with the lower of suchnotches on the quill shanks.

Figs. 27 and 28 are front and side elevations showing the quill in itsdepressed position preparatory to passing the bobbin thread around itsshank to measure the non-run stitch.

Figs. 29 and 30 show in front and side elevation the passage of thebobbin thread around the quill shank to measure the non-run stitch.

Fig. 31 shows in front elevation the completion of the non-run stitch onone leg of the long loop, with the machine parts omitted.

Fig. 32 is a front view showing the drawing down of the next adjacentneedle loop into a long loop.

Figs. 33 to 35 illustrate the sinker loops of the non-run stitches asformed in the slots of the sinkers.

Fig. 36 shows the quill bank adjusted in another of its adjustedpositions.

Figs. 37 and 38 show intermediate steps in the removal 'of the sinkerloops of the non-run chanical means for actuating the various movingparts, which mechanical or automatic actuating mechanism is of known orany preferred form. For simplicity of illustration and description andclarity of understanding, the moving parts are herein to be understoodto be manipulated by hand, as the present description confines itselfmore immediately to the novel fabric, the method used in making it, andonly so much of the thread handling devices and associated parts as areneeded to practice the method.

The novel knitting machine comprises a needle bank I, Figs. 1, 2 and 9,suitably mounted on a base (not shown) by means of supports 3, and aslotted block 5, Figs. 1, 2 and 11, generally similar to the needle bankI, which I term the quill bank. The front face of the needle bank isslotted as shown in Fig. 9 to provide vertical slots I in which workknitting needles 9, Fig. 1, of standard type equipped with pivotedlatches II as clearly shown in Figs. 46 and 4? and having the usualangularly projecting butts I3. The size and spacing of the needle slots1 is as desired for the gage of stocking being knitted, there being nolimitation imposed by the construction and operation of the presentmachine on the fineness of gage'which is not also met with in standardmachines. The top surface of the needle bank is also slotted as shown inFig. 9 to provide slots I 5 for the sinkers I'I, Fig. 10, retainedtherein by a plate I8, Fig. 40, the bottoms of the slots beinghorizontal and therefore at exact right angles to the bottoms of thevertical needle slots I. There is a sinker slot I5 midway between eachtwo needle slots 1, and an additional sinker slot I5 beyond eachoutermost needle slot.

The quill bank 5 is mounted above and in front of needle block I, beingattached by screw I9, Fig. 39, put through an oversized hole in acrosspiece 2| screwed to the forward ends of brackets 23 affixed byscrews 25, Fig. 1, to the sides of needle block I, and also by screws 22put through a slot in cross-piece 24 and through oversized holes inflanges on brackets 23 into the quill bank. The rear face of quill bank5 is formed with vertical slots 21, Fig. 11, identical in spacedrelation with the needle slots I, and in these slots are slidablymounted members 29, Fig. l, which I term quills and which terminate attheir lower ends in devices which are substantially identical to thecorresponding parts of the latch needles 9 except that, as shown clearlyin Figs. 46 and 47, there is a short quill-like extension 3| dependingfrom the point of the hook in spaced and parallel relation to the axisof the shank of the needle, these quills performing a function measuringthe length of the stitches and in the transfer of the stitches from thequills to the needles which will be explained later,

In beginning the knitting of the novel fabric, a starting web or cuff ofpreviously-formed plain knit flat fabric of approximately the same gageas that to be made is provided, having near its unbound end a course orrow of stitches which are slightly larger in size than the stitchescomprising the rest of the web. These larger stitches are placed on therespective quills of a standard straight or fiat transfer comb (notshown) of the same gage as the needle bank I, and the subsequent coursesunraveled back to the course thus held, the thread then being cut toleave a short trailing end of two or three inches in length. The quillbank 5 with its quills is removed from the machine by removing screws I9and 22, the transfer comb held with its quills in register with theneedles 9, and the entire series of stitches of the starting webtransferred to the needles, in customary manner. With the stitches thusset up on the machine needles, as shown in Fig. 4, the other end of thestarting web 33 is made fast to a take-up reel 35, of any customary orpreferred construction, and the desired tension applied to the web by aweight and cord or other suitable torque means (not shown) applied tothe reel.

A small bobbin 3?, Figs. l, 6 and 7, is then provided, wound with asupply of the particular thread 38 desired for the fabric to be knitted,and the end of the bobbin thread is tied to the trailing end of thestarting web 33. This bobbin and the thread wound thereon constitute thethread supply. To dispose of the trailing end of the starting web andthe knot 65, one or more courses of ordinary plain knit stitches arenext knitted. It is to be noted that as shown in Fig. each sinker i! notonly has a notch 39 on its working end, but also is provided with a hook4| .directly above such notch, which engages and supports the sinkerloops of the terminal course of the starting web which has beentransferred to the needles 9, as shown in Fig. 5, the level top surfacebehind the hook thus acting as a knock-over, and the end of the sinkerbeing of hook-shape to permit one side of a stitch to be pulled awayfrom the face of the needle-bank as shown in Fig. 19 in making thenon-run stitch as will be described later, the hook preventing thesinker loop from coming off of the end of the sinker in this process.

In making the courses of plain knit, the thread 38 from the bobbin 3! islaid over the fabric across the width of the needle bank from the hook4| of each sinker to and through the hook 4| of the next adjacentsinker, but passing in front of the hook ll of the extreme left-handsinker, as shown in Fig. 6. For convenience, each of the needles 9 israised in turn so that the needle loop passes below the latch of theneedle, and the thread 38 being laid in front of each needle, above thelatch, the bobbin thread 38 is seized by the 3;

hook of needle 9, thus forming the plain stitch upon each loop 65 whenthe needle again descends. This is repeated across the entire set ofneedles in the needle bank to complete one row of plain knit stitches.Somewhere in this row of stitches the knot id made in tying the startingweb 33 to the bobbin thread 38 is disposed of, as indicated in Fig. 'I,which knot might otherwise prevent the necessary free reeving of thethread in making the long loop 56, Fig. '7, incident to the productionof the non-run stitch. A second course of plain knit stitches is knittedfrom right to left before beginning the non-run fabric, as showniri Fig.7, to obtain a row of stitches each of which will draw freely when drawndown to become successively the traveling long loop '56characteristically employed in the non-run construction. At this stage,the quill bank 5 with its quills 29 in the raised position as shown inFig. 1 is put back on the machine and fixed in place by its retainingscrews, in the relation shown in Fig. 12, the quill bank 5 being locatedslightly off center of the machine toward the left-hand side thereof tobring the extreme left-hand quill 29 directly in front of the extremeleft-hand sinker I7, this being effected as shown in Fig. 12 byinserting two spacers ill between the right-hand end of quill bank 5 andits adjacent bracket 23, screws l9 and 22 being momentarily loosened forthis purpose. Each other quill correspondingly the extreme right-handsinker has no quill in front of it, since there is one more sinker thanquills. It is also to be noted that quill bank 5 in this first positionis set forward in contact with the rear surface of cross-piece 21, asshown in Fig. 13. All quills are in their highest position, as shown inFig. 1.

In accordance with the invention, thelast stitch of this second courseof plain knitting, that.located at the left-hand side ofthe fabric asshown in Fig. 7, is then drawn down to an extreme degree, preferably fargreater than that employed in forming the plain knit or in standardpractice, to form what I term the traveling long loop 50, Figs. '7, 8and 14. This iseffected by picking the butt it of outside needle Bdown.by hand. Attention is called to the fact that the face of the needlebank I is cut back as indicated at 55in Figs. 9 and 10, so that thehooks of needles Sproject forward from the portion 53 of the face of theneedle bank, and thus the long loop 5llsuspended from the hooks ii ofsinkers ll stands clear of the portion 53 of the face of the needlebank, and thus does not make contact therewith.

The object in drawing down the long loop 50 is to produce a stitch looplarge enough so that it may be opened up to permit bobbint'l carryingthe supply of thread 38 to be put through this stitch loop of a previouscourse, as shown in Fig. "I. Instocking fabrics, and in practically allother fabrics as well, the needle loops are too small in their originalstate to admit of conveniently passing the thread 38 therethrough, muchless the bobbin 3'1. Hence the invention provides the step ofmomentarily enlarging the previously-formed needle loops of thepreceding course in succession across the width of the fabric to enablethe bobbin carrying the thread to be put through them successively inknitting a course of non-run stitches, each enlarged loop in turn beingdrawn back to its original or any desired size after the bobbin has beenput through, by the act of enlarging the next successive needle loop forthe same purpose.

As the two sides of the long loop actually lie very close together whenheld down by the pull of the needle 53, and are additionally very closeto the face of the needle bank in spite of the cutback 53, it would betedious to attempt to separate them for the passage of the bobbin byordinary means. However, I have found that if the needle drawing downthe long loop 50 is pushed upward a short distance from its maximumdownward position, the thread has by its resilience an inherent tendencyto widen the loop at and adjacent the hook of the needle, thus changingits shape from the stressed condition of Fig. 16to the more openrelation shown in Fig. 17 as thedownward strain is relieved by upwardmovement of the needle from the level a to the level b. Thus the loop 50becomes wide enough to permit a small hook 55, held in the hand, Fig.18,'to be inserted between the the two sides of the loop and on gagedwith one side, herein the left-hand side, of the loop so thatthe portionof thread forming .this side may be pulled away from the needle bank,thus shaping the long loop into a large triangle disposed in a planegenerally at right angles to the face of the needle bank, through whichbobbin 3? carrying the thread 38 is easily passed as shown in Fig. 19.As the loop is thus spread, the needle 9 at the bottom of the loop risesfrom the elevation shown in Fig..l8 to that of Figs. 19 and 20-as aportion ofthe-otherside-ofzthe.100D

reeves through the needle hook to form a part of the base of thetriangle.

.As already indicated, the stitch drawn down into the long loop 50 wasthe last one formed in the previous course with the bobbin thread 38With this stitch thus elongated and opened, the bobbin is passed underthe left-hand side or leg of loop 50 from left to right, as indicated inFigs. 7 and 19, such loop is again drawn down as. shown in Fig. 21 toits original full extent by depressing the needle 9 to its priorposition, and the bobbin then returned to the left of the loop Thebobbin thread 38 is thus caused to make a bend or half-turn around thelefthand side of long loop 50. The necessity for the hook 4| on top ofsinker H in order to prevent the thread from being pulled off of thesinker as the triangular loop is formed has been made plain in Fig. 19.By lifting slightly upward and pulling on the bobbin thread 38, thehalf-turn slides up along the obliquely-inclined end of sinker H andsettles into the notch 39 formed therein immediately below the hook M,as shown in Fig. 22.

Before completing the non-run stitch, it is necessary to measure off andhold a loop in the bobbin thread, in order to determine the length orsize of the non-run stitch. For this purpose, the quill bank now comesinto use. As shown in Figs. 12 and 13, and as previously noted, the lefthand quill 29 in quill bank 5 is in line with and slightly in front ofthe left-hand sinker ll, though all quills are in the raised relation tothe sinkers l'l shown in Fig. 23. On the shank of each quill 29 thereare two notches 51, 59, Figs. and 26. On the top of quill bank 5 isslidably mounted by means of a screw 6| a locating slide 63, Figs. 1, 2and 25, having a longitudinal slot 65 to receive screw El and a releaseslot 61 near one end of its rearward edge which edge engages the notches51, 59, in the shank of each quill 29. At the start, locating slide 63occupies the lower notches 59 of all the quills 29 to hold them raisedin the position of Fig. 23. When the slide is moved to a position wherethe shank of a given quill is aligned with notch 61, that quill may bemoved in a vertical direction either up or down.

After the bend has been made as described around the left-hand leg ofloop 50 and the loop again drawn down, quill locating slide 63 is nowmoved toward the right until release slot E: registers with the quillshank of the left-hand quill; this quill being free to move, it is nowpushed well down, in front of the bobbin thread 38, as shown in Figs. 27and 28. While the quill stands in this position with its hook well belowsinker l'l, needle 9 is again raised slightly as in Fig. 17 to partiallyopen long loop 50, and with the aid of the hook 55 the left side of loop59 is again pulled away from the face of the needle bank as in Figs. 18and 19, and bobbin 3'! is carried across in front of quill 29 above thehook thereon but below the open latch thereof, and again passed fromleft to right under the lefthand strand of loop 50 just as was done inmaking the first bend shown in Fig. 21. The parts then stand as shown inFigs. 29 and 30, with the bobbin thread 38 looped around the shank ofquill 29 and with the first bend of the bobbin thread still held in thenotch 39 of sinker H, as illustrated in Fig. 30. Needle 9 is then moveddown to its original full extent, pulling the long loop 59 down into itsoriginal position, quill 29 is moved upward to bring its upper notch 51level with locating slide 63, and the latter is moved toward the rightcausing the quill to be locked in the position shown in Fig. 24, withthe bend of its hook substantially level with the hook M of sinker IT.The bobbin and its thread 38 are then drawn to the left, thus completingthe first non-run stitch, which appears as shown in Fig. 31,disregarding the presence of the needle, quill, and sinkers. As thereillustrated this non-run stitch has been formed on the side of needleloop 50, i. e., on one leg thereof, instead of at the bottom of theloop, as in conventional knitting.

The characteristic feature of the new stitch, which gives it its non-runattribute, is that as shown in Fig. 31 the thread forming this stitchexecutes a complete turn around the thread of the needle loop of thepreceding course with which it is engaged. Made as described, itactually makes 1% turns. As shown in Figs. 31 and 34, the two legs ofthe non-run stitch, just completed, respectively pass through thepreviously formed stitch, the stitch which has been lengthened into thelong loop 59, from opposite surfaces of the fabric, in their extent awayfrom their stitch, the loop of which is now held on the quill 29. Thusthe two bends at the ends of the legs of the non-run stitch, which bendsconnect this stitch with the lengthened stitch '50, pass through thislatter previously formed stitch 50 from opposite sides of the fabric intheir extent away from their stitch. Hence the two legs of the non-runstitch respectively lie at 0pposite surfaces of'the fabric in passingthrough the previous stitch 56.

At this stage, the non-run stitch is held on the shank of the quillbelow the latch thereof, which quill has thus been used to establish thesize or length of the novel stitch, While the stitch with which this oneis engaged is still drawn down in the long loop 50 and held by theneedle as shown in Fig. 29. The long loop having now served its purposeof permitting such priorformed stitch to be opened in order to knit thenon-run stitch thereto, it is next drawn back to its original size bydrawing down the adjacent needle 9 to the right of that which hasheretofore been employed as described. In so doing, the thread of longloop 50 reeves through the hook of its needle 9, through the loopimmediately above it in the wale, and through the hook of sinker I!immediately to the right thereof, and the excess length of thread whichhas up to now formed the first long loop 50 thus passes into the needleloop of the second needle from the left, that which has just been drawndown, to form the second long loop shown in Fig. 32. By this action, thefirst needle 9 is drawn back by the thread to its original elevatedstarting position, and as noted its needle loop has returned to itsoriginal size, and the surplus length of thread taken out of such stitchis added to the stitch already on the needle in the second needle walefrom the left of the fabric by the act of drawing it down. With a newlong loop thus provided in such second needle wale. the second non-runstitch is made in the same manner and by following the same successionof steps as in the case of the first non-run stitch described, with theexception that the second needle, quill, and sinker, from the left ofthe fabric are used. The second quill 29 is locked in the down positionof Fig. 24 through engagement of the edge of locating slide 63 withinnotch 51, as before, upon completion of the stitch,

9 there being now two quill shanks 29 to the left of release slot 61 inlocating slide 63.

Two non-run stitches have now been completed, and each is held on itsrespective quill 29; the same steps are now repeated to make successivenon-run stitches each engaged With the successive needle loops of theprevious course across the entire width of the fabric fromleft to right,in doing which the length of thread required for opening and wideningsuccessive stitches of the previously-formed course is attained bytransferring the excess length from the previous long loop to the longloop being formed, thereby shortening the previous long loop to restorethe original length of the stitch thus temporarily lengthened andwidened to admit the bobbin 31.

With a complete course of non-run stitches thus knitted across theentire width of the fabric from left to right, and with bobbin 3? andits trailing thread 36 now located at the right-hand side of the fabricand machine, the next step before commencing a new course is to knockoff the course of plain knit stitches from the needles 9, which iseffected by simply pushing the needles 9 upward individually orsimultaneously to pass their latches above their needle loops, and thenpulling them down again to their original level, thus shedding thestitches.

In this condition, the non-run stitches are each held by the shank ofits quill 29, each quill standing in front of a sinker l7, and uponrelease of the needles from their loops the tension on the web producedby the torque of reel 35 retracts the needle loops of the previouscourse and thus slides the non-run stitches from the sides of the needleloops of the previous course into the bends or extremities of suchneedle loops, as shown in Figs. 34 and 35. In this latter figure, and inall corresponding previous figures, it is clearly shown that theportions of the thread forming the sinker loops of the nonrun stitchesare not on top of the sinker but rest in the slot 39 just under the hook4| of the sinker. Before knitting a new course, therefore, the sinkerloops of the non-run stitches must be moved up onto the top of thesinkers and under the hooks 4| thereof; additionally, the stitches mustbe transferred from the quills 29 onto the needles 9.

To move the sinker loops of the non-run stitches to the top of thesinkers, the quill bank 5 is shifted toward the right-hand side of themachine one-half of the distance between adjacent sinkers, so as toplace the left-hand quill directly in front of the extreme left-handneedle and the rest of the quills in similar relation to the remainingneedles. To make this shift, screws l9 and 22 are loosened and one ofthe spacers 5|, Fig; 12, each of which spacers in practice has athickness equal to one half of the distance between successive needles,is shifted from the right-hand side to the left-hand side of quill bank5 and inserted between the latter and bracket 2-3 as indicated in Fig.36, with appropriate movement of the quill bank to the right, theholding screws being then retightened. Through this movement of quillbank 5 into its second position, shown in Fig. 36, bringing the quills29 into position in front of the needles with their ends in a planeslightly above the latter, the front ends or needle wales of the loopsof non-run stitches around the quill shanks are shifted from in front ofthe sinkers to positions above and in front of the needles 9. Thepreviously described release of the plain knit stitches from the needles10 9 has allowed the tension on the fabric to draw the sinker loops 69of the previous course of plain knit stitches back from the positionshown in Fig. 35 beneath the hooks 4| of the sinkers to the positionshown in Fig. 37, where they are well out from under hooks 4|. Next, theentire set of sinkers is drawn back toward the rear of the machine,being moved from the position shown in Fig. 37 by the distance c, Fig.38. To govern this movement and maintain the sinkers in either of thesepositions, a sinker control slide N, Fig. 40, similar to the quilllocating slide 63 is provided, fixed to the back of needle bank I by ascrew 13 passing through an elongated'slot 15 in the slide, the top edgeof the slide engaging in one or other of two notches in the under sideof each sinker H, the top edge of the slide being formed with a notch 11permitting operation of the individual sinkers in the same manner as thequills are operated. Since all the sinkers are to be moved toward theback of the machine at the same time, screw 73 is loosened and twospacers 79 are inserted between the slide and the block each of whichspacers is equal in thickness to the dimension 0, Fig. 38, screw 13 thenbeing re-tightened. This brings all the sinkers in aligned relation intothe position shown in Fig. 38'.

While the sinkers remain in this second position, each quill 29insuccession across the width of the fabric is raised into the upposition of Fig. 23 by manipulating slide 63 into the lower notch 59 ineach quill shank. This upward movement of the quills lifts the fabric sothat the sinker loops of the course of non-run stitches which are stillattached to the quills will be elevated above the sinker hooks 4| asshown in Fig. 41, the rearward shift of the sinkers illustrated in Fig.38 having freed these sinker loops from their previous position in thenotches 39 of the sinkers. Spacers 79 are now removed from behind sinkercontrol slide TI, and screw 13 screwed in to bring the slide backagainst the surface of needle block i, with corresponding forwardmovement of all the sinkers in a body to their original position in Fig.37. With screw 13 loose enough to permit movement of control slide 7|,the sinkers are successively advanced through use of the notch 11 in theslideto enable the slide to occupy the rearward one of the two notchesin each sinker, whereby each sinker is advanced from its position ofFig. 37 by a distance d, Fig. 42, the space between the two sinkernotches. Thereupon all quills 29 are moved into their downposition ofFig. 24 by proper manipulation of'locating slide 63 to enter the edgeof" this slide in upper notches 57 of the quill shanks, bringing theentire fabric down onto the sinkers again with the sinker loops, of thecourse of nonrun stitches each upon a sinker just behind hook 4|thereof, as shown in Fig. 43. All the sinkers are then returned to theiroriginal position of Fig. 37 by manipulating their control slide H toshift the-edge ofthe latter into the forward notch of each sinker.

The result of these manipulations is that the sinker loops of the courseof non-run stitches are each engaged beneath the hook 4| of a sinker asshown in Fig. 44.

The next step is to transfer the non-run needle loops from the shanks ofquills 29 to the needles 9, which are now empty. It will be noted that aneedle control slide 83, Figs. 1, 2 and 45, is provided below the butts|3 of needles 9, this slide sliding horizontally in a frame made up ofmetal straps and spacers 81 held together and the quills to the needles.

11 fastened to the needle bank by screws 89. Throughout the previousoperations, a slot 9|, wide enough to accommodate two needle butts, inthe upper edge of lower slide 83 is brought beneath the successiveneedle butts as the needles have been successively drawn down in formingthe traveling long loop 50. This slide 83 is now removed entirely, andall the needles are pulled down. Quill locating slide 63 is then removedfrom the machine, and the quills are pushed forward to a position wherethe loops on the quills are above the latches of the quills as shown inFig. 46. Thereupon the entire quill bank is moved toward the rear of themachine to bring each each quill into substantially vertical alignmentwith one of the needles 9, as shown in Fig.

47, to prepare for transfer of the stitches from This movement of quillbank 5 is effected by loosening screws l9 and 22, and while spacers 5|are retained in 130- sition as in Fig. 36 at each end of the quill bank,a third spacer 93, Fig. 39, is inserted between the front plate 2| andthe front of the quill bank 5, screw l9 being then re-tightened.

The needles 9 are then pushed upward, the convex side of the hook ofeach needle engaging the bend of one of the quills 29 as shown in Fig.47 and pushing the quill upward through the needle loop of the non-runstitch held by the quill shank, causing such loop to close the latch 95of the quill and to pass off from the quill entirely, and to be guidedby the extension 3| on the quill into the hook of the needle 9. Slide 83is now reinserted, and all needle butts brought down to the level of thetop edge thereof, reestablishing the size of the non-run stitches. The.needles 9 are thus back in their starting positions which they occupiedwhen they held needle loops of the plain knit courses, thus completingacourse of non-run stitches of the same size as the plain knit portionsof the fabric.

To knit the second course of non-run stitches,

which will be knitted from right to left, the quills 29, now empty, arerestored to their raised a starting position of Fig. 23 by restoring thequill locating slide 63 and entering it into the lower notches 59 of thequill shanks, Fig. 25, and also removing the spacer 93 and shifting thespacer 5| from the right-hand side of quill bank 5 to the left-hand sidethereof, alongside the other spacer 5| which had been placed there asdescribed. When knitting from left to right as related, the non-runstitch was madeby passing the bobbin 31 repeatedly around the left-handle or side of the traveling long loop, with the quill bank at itsextreme left-hand position shown in Fig. 12 to bring the quill at theextreme of the bank in register with the sinker IT at the extreme leftof the machine, thus causing each quill loop to be formed around thequill standing at the left of the needles which eventually receive thisloop. Now in knitting from right to left the right-hand side or leg ofthe traveling loop is encircled by the bobbin thread in making thenon-run stitch, as shown in Fig. 48, and hence the quill must be locatedat the right-hand side of its corresponding needle. Thus the quill bank5 is shifted to its extreme right-hand position, against the right-handbracket 23, for this purpose, each spacer 5! having a thickness equal toone-half the distance between adjacent needles and thus the two togethermoving the quill bank to the right the full distance between twoadjacent needles.

In knitting from right to left, the steps outlined hereinbefore as toforming the successive non-run stitches are repeated across the entirewidth of the fabric, forming the novel stitch on the right-hand leg ofeach needle loop of the preceding course of non-run stitches asindicated in Fig. 48. 'The fact that the preceding course of stitcheswhose loops are now successively opened to admit the bobbin is now ofnon-run construction does not in any way impede the drawing down of thelong loop, or the retraction of such loops into their final intendedsize, the excess length of thread needed to form the lon loop beingprovided and recovered through reeving of the thread through the hook ofthe needle, the preceding needle loop, and the book of the sinker, justas before.

With the course of non-run stitches completed from right to left andheld on the quills, one of the spacers 5| is shifted to the right-handend of quill bank 5 to bring the quill bank into the position shown inFig. 36, with each quill in front of its respective needle. Thereafter,the stitches are knocked off, the sinkers and quills are manipulated,and the same manner and order of procedure is followed as was done withthe course of non-run stitches knitted from left to right.

To simplify the understanding of the basic method, the question ofdisposing of the excess length of thread drawn from the bobbin to formthe traveling long loop and worked backward through the successivestages of the preceding course to the end thereof which was knittedfirst, and no longer needed now that the succeeding course of non-runstitches has been completed, has been omitted in the description thusfar. Various ways of disposing of the long loops thus left at thestarting end of the final course of plain knit stitches, and, as willappear, also at the starting end of each course of non-run stitches, areavailable; in some cases, the long loops are each drawn out laterallybeyond the first stitch in each course, restoring such stitch to itsoriginal size, and then each loop is laid back over the knockoversurfaces of the sinkers in front of the slightly raised needles of asucceeding course for as far as it will reach inward from the selvage,the needles then being depressed to knit the doubled length of thread inthe loop into the first 3 or 4 stitches of such course. When this isdone, the 3 or 4 stitches involved are always made of plain knitthroughout the fabric length, to dispense with the hooks 4| on thesinkers so as to facilitate laying the loop of thread on the knockoversurface in position to be seized by the needles.

However, a preferred way of disposing of the excess length of threadcontained in the long loop left over in each course after it has servedits usefulness, comprises the step of borrowing the length of threadneeded for the formation of the long loop from the course in which thelong loop is working, by creating an intentional deficiency of length inthe beginning of the same course in which this excess length iseventually to be disposed of, through forming a certain number ofstitches in each course of subnormal length, and thereafter working backinto them the otherwise excess length of thread left over in the longloop after it has served its purpose, thus absorbing such long loopcompletely in subsequently drawing down these short-length stitches intothe same length of stitch prevailing throughout the rest of this courseand generally throughout the fabric.

It is to be understood that the size of the travelmg long loop, andhence the excess length of thread thus left in the preceding course, isdetermined by the size of the bobbin 3! which is to be put through thelong loop 50. Assuming for purposes of illustration that each stitch,plain or non-run, needs to be enlarged to five times its final desiredsize in order to make'the long loop large enough to put the particularbobbin 3'! through it conveniently, in making the non-run stitch, itwill be seen that if the first four stitches of a completed course aredrawn flat and allowed to have no length at all, as shown in Fig. 49,the surplus four stitch lengths taken from the bobbin, and introducedfirst into the final stitch of such course to form the traveling longloop and thereafter worked backward successively through the stitches ofsuch course, can be absorbed in these first four fiat stitches by thestep of subsequently enlarging them by drawing them down to give themthe same length as that intended to prevail throughout the fabric.

For example, assuming that a row of plain knit stitches has been knittedfrom left to right, and the final row of plain knit stitches is about tobe knitted from right to left: the first four plain knit stitches areknitted from right to left, and thereupon these four needles are movedup until their needle loops are freed from all downward pull and thehooks of the needles are well above the level of the knock-over surfacesof the sinkers, as shown in Fig. 49. The bobbin thread 38 is then drawntaut to flatten out these four needle loops, drawing them tight againstthe needles between the hooks and the latches thereof, as shown in Fig.49. Leaving these four needles in this raised position, the formation ofordinary plain knit stitches of the same length as in the precedingcourse is carried out across the remaining width of the fabric clear tothe left-hand side of the machine. Thereafter, and as described atlength hereinbefore, the extreme left-hand needle is drawn downward toform the first traveling long loop previously referred'to, such needlebeing depressed to a distance where the length of thread entering intoits loop equals the length initially given to and subsequently restoredto this stitch, plusthe' material robbed from the four righthand needleloops in pulling them fiat as just described, or a total of what may becalled five stitch-lengths. This length of the traveling long loopformed on the first needle from the left to start the first course ofnon-run stitches, and as stated needed to get the particular size ofbobbin used through this long 1oop,is measured off by bringing theneedle butt l3 to the bottom of notch 9| in laterally movable slide 83,the bottom of the slot thus acting as a gage to measure off anddetermine the length of the long loop, as before. Upon this first longloop is knitted the first nonrun stitch as shown in Figs. '7, 19, 2'7,and 29 to 31 and as previously described. In this manner the first fournon-run stitches of this course are knitted, and will be on the quills29 as shown in Figs. 34 and 35. 'I'hereupon, with the traveling longloop on the th needle from the left, and before proceeding with theformation of more nonrun stitches, these four non-run stitches aretransferred from the quills 29 to their respective needles 9, after themanner set forth hereinbefore, with the necessary manipulation of quillbank 5, which is thereafter restored to its working position of Fig. 12.At this stage then, the first four left-hand needles hold the first fournon-run stitches of the first non-run course, the next needle to theright beyond this group is in deneedles at the: extreme right are inraised relation as shown in Fig. 49 extending through: the fourflattened stitches at the starting end of the previous plain knitcourse.

The four non-run stitches thus formed and now held on the four left-handneedles are next flattened out in the same manner as was done with thefour stitches at the right-hand end of the preceding plain knit course,Fig. 49, and for the same purpose of preparing for the absorption of thelength of thread used to form. a travel.- ing long loop in this non-runcourse in the process of adding a succeeding reversely-knitted nonruncourse thereto. Thus, as before, these four left-hand needles are movedupward until their needle loops stand below their hooks, and the bobbinthread is drawn to the right untilthe loops are pulled flat against theraised needles and extends in a substantially straight line across theknock-over surfaces of the associated sinkers. As noted, stitches fromtwo successive courses stand on the needles, but the four stitches ateach side of the fabric have been drawn flat, the four left-handstitches being of non-run char-- acter, while the remaining stitches areof plain knit form. Thereupon the knitting of the first course ofnon-run stitches is continued from left to right through the use of thetraveling long loop, after the manner described, but as the travelinglong loop is drawn down by the 4th needle from the right, the fifthneedle from the right is raised to the level of the adjacent four raisedneedles so that its plain knit loop can in turn be flattened by reevingthe material therefrom into the "long loop of the 4th needle from theright, to enable the long loop formed with this 4th needle from theright to attain its full size in spite of the deficiency of onestitch-length resulting from its having been flattened. That is, therelease of the needle loop of the 5th needle from the right in thismanner enables the length of this stitch to be temporarily added to thelong loop on the 4th needle from the right, to give it the requisitefive stitch-lengths attained heretofore in knitting this non-run course.After making the non-run stitch on this long loop held by the 4th needlefrom the right, and in transferring the material of the long loop to thethird needle from the right by drawing down the" latter, the 4th needleis similarly raised above the knockover surface and its plain knitneedle loop fiattened again, to give the long loop on the third needlefrom the right the necessary length. By thesame procedure, the. non-runstitches are formed on the plain knit needle loops held by the secondand first needles from the right, resulting in the completion ,of thefirst course of non-run stitches, at which stage the long loop is helddown by the first needle from the right.

This long loop has now fulfilled its usefulness in this course. Aspredetermined, the long loop contains just the len th of thread neededto restore the flattened 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th plain knit stitches fromthe right-hand side of the fabric to their original size, with justenoughleft over to make theneedle loop on the first needle from theright of :the same size as it was initially. So the next step is todistribute the length of thread, left over after drawing the firstneedle loop from the right back to its original size, equally amongstthe flattened 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th stitches from the right. To do this,the 2nd needle from the right is drawn downward, causing the thread toreeve from the traveling long loop, thus drawing the first needle fromthe right upward to a point where the lower edge of its butt is levelwith the upper edge of slide 83, which leaves just enough material inthe first needle loop to restore this stitch to its original size. Thetraveling loop held by the second needle from the right contains enoughmaterial to complete the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th stitches from the right.In like manner, the 3rd needle from the right is moved downward to causethe 2nd needle to be drawn upward until the lower edge of its buttreaches the level of the top edge of slide 83, where it remains, as doesthe first needle. The same procedure is followed with the 4th needlefrom the right, causing the 3rd needle to rise to this same level, atwhich stage the 4th needle holds down a loop containing twice theinitial stitch length. Upon moving the 5th needle from the rightdownward until its butts lower edge contacts the upper edge of slide 83,the 4th needle rises to where its butts lower edge is level with theupper edge of slide 83.

By these steps, the length of thread left over in the traveling longloop after it has served its purpose is absorbed and distributed in theplain knit course through which it was worked backward, thus leaving acourse of stitches all of uniform size.

This done, all the needles except the four at the left-hand side holdingthe flattened four non-run stitches are raised until their needle loopspass below their latches, and then depressed to cast off the entireremainder of the course of plain knit stitches which up to now hasoccupied all of the needles except the four at the extreme left,previously cast off. Following this, the non run stitches now held onthe quills, which includes all except the four at the extreme left, aretransferred to their respective needles, by the manipulation previouslydescribed herein and involving the shift of the quill bank 5 to bringits quills 29 into alignment with the respective needles 9 as shown inFig. 36, and the casting of these stitches from the quills onto theneedles by the operation indicated in Fig. 4'7.

The second course of non-run stitches is thereupon knitted from right toleft in similar manner, the bobbin being at the right-hand edge of thefabric at the completion of the first course of non-run stitches. Asbefore, sufficient material is drawn from the bobbin to provide thetraveling long loop, which is worked back through the preceding non-runcourse from right to left to permit successive enlargement of thesestitches to let the bobbin through, followed by restoration of thesestitches to their initial size, which is also their final size, witheventual absorption of the material of the traveling long loopgat thelefthand end of the preceding non-run course in restoring to their finalsize the four non-run stitches at the left which had previously beenflattened in preparation to receive and retain this otherwise surpluslength of thread after the long loop has served its purpose, all as justdescribed, including the transfer and flattening of the first thirdcourse. a

The knitting of the successive courses of non- .runstitches is continuedin identical manner until the desired length of fabric is completed, the

courses alternating in direction successively from left to right andfrom right to left as usual, the first four stitches knitted in everycourse being as stated transferred from their quills and flattened assoon as made and before continuing the course, to absorb the travelinglong loop, which is initially created in each course by enlarging thelast made stitch thereof, and traveling backward through such course toits beginning end, and eventually being absorbed in that same coursethrough the flattening of the first four stitches and the robbing of the5th stitch therein followed by restora tion of the initial size of allfive of these stitches. The stitch at the beginning end of each row isrestored first; the 2nd stitch from this end is restored next, and the3rd, 4th and 5th stitches from this end are successively restored inthat order.

Conventional methods of widening and narrowing the fabric are employedas desired, as in shaping a stocking fabric, the invention process andapparatus presenting no special difficulty in this respect.

An enlarged specimen of the novel knitted fabric made in the manner andwith the apparatus just described is shown in Fig. 3, in which the uppertwo complete courses illustrate the plain knit or regular stitch and thelower two courses, respectively complete and partial, illustrate thenovel non-run stitch and its manner of interengagem :it both with theplain knit course and with a succeeding non-run course. This figure alsoshows the construction of the selvages resulting from the describednovel method.

It is to be understood that courses of plain or fancy knit may beinterposed between rows of non-run stitches in any combination orsequence that may be desired.

While I have illustrated and described a certain form in which theinvention may be embodied, I am aware that many modifications may bemade therein by any person skilled in the art, without departing fromthe scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore, I donot wish to be limited to the particular form shown, or to the detailsof construction thereof, but

What I do claim is:

l. The method of knitting which includes the steps of enlarging apreviously formed stitch and thereafter passing the thread supply twicetherethrough in the same direction and thus around the thread of suchpreviously formed stitch in forming the corresponding stitch of asucceeding course.

2. The method of knitting which includes the steps of enlarging apreviously formed stitch and passing the thread supply twice in the samedirection therethrough in forming the corresponding stitch of eachsucceeding course and thereafter reducing the size of the thus enlargedstitch.

3. The method of knitting which includes the steps of knitting a courseof stitches, enlarging at least some of such stitches, passing thethread supply twice in the same direction through each of the enlargedstitches in forming the corresponding stitches of each succeedingcourse, and thereafter reducing them to substantially their originalsize, one at a time.

4. The method of knitting which includes the steps of knitting a courseof stitches, temporarily enlarging at least some of such stitches,passing the thread supply twice in the same direction 17 a through eachof the enlarged stitches in forming the corresponding stitches of eachsucceeding course, reducing them to substantially their original size,one at a time, and incorporating the length of thread involved in thetemporary enlargement of these stitches into the stitches of a course ofthe fabric.

5. The method of knitting which includes the steps of knitting a courseof stitches, successively enlarging some at least of such stitches,passing the thread supply twice in the same direction through eachenlarged stitch to form a stitch of the next succeeding course, andthereafter reducing each enlarged stitch to smaller size by enlarging anadjacent stitch.

6. The method of knitting which includes the steps of enlarging apreviously formed stitch, passing the thread supply therethrough,holding a loop in the extent of thread between the stitch and the restof the thread supply, and passing the thread supply again through thestitch in the same direction as before.

7. The method of knitting which includes the steps of forming a courseof stitches, forming a second course of stitches engaged with the firstcourse while the latter is held by a series of needles, releasing thefirst course from the needles, and transferring the second coursethereto.

8. The method of knitting which includes the steps of enlarging apreviously formed stitch, passing the thread supply therethrough,holding a loop in the extent of thread between the stitch and the threadsupply, and passing the thread supply again through the stitch in thesame direction as before and thereafter transferring this stitch to aneedle.

9. The method of knitting which includes the steps of knitting a courseof stitches, enlarging such stitches in succession in the reverse orderto that in which they were formed, passing the thread supply througheach stitch while enlarged in forming the corresponding stitches of eachsucceeding course, distributing the length of thread involved in the'enlargement of the stitches among the stitches of this course, and

through the enlarged stitches to create a new course of stitches, andthereafter giving all the stitches a substantially uniform length.

11. The method of knitting which includes the steps of knitting a courseof stitches, drawing from the thread supply a sufficient length ofthread to permit momentary enlargement of one stitch thereof for thepassage of the thread supply therethrough, working this length throughother stitches of this course to permit successive momentary enlargementof such stitches and the passage of the thread supply therethrough, andabsorbing this length in such course by enlarging to the same size asthe rest of the stitches a number of stitches previously made deficientin length.

12. In a knitting machine, in combination, needles, members providingknockover surfaces, and spreader means enlarging a previously formedneedle loop while the latter continues to be held by a needle and theknockover surfaces.

13. In a knitting machine, in combination, members providing knockoversurfaces, needles forming loops in the thread, and means holding aside abend in the thread after the latter has 18 been put through a needleloop held by a needle and the knock-over surfaces.

14. In a knitting machine, in combination, needles forming loops in thethread, means enlarging a needle loop to permit the passage of thethread supply through such loop twice in the same direction, and meansholding aside a bend in the thread, such bend being formed in theportion of the length of the thread lying between its first and itssecond passage through the needle loop.

15. In a knitting machine, in combination, needles forming loops in thethread, means enlarging a needle loop to permit carrying the threadsupply a full turn around the thread comprising such previously formedneedle loop, and means holding an intermediate portion of such full turnaway from the thread of the needle loop.

16. In a knitting machine, in combination, needles forming loops in thethread, means enlarging a needle loop to permit carrying the threadsupply a full turn around the thread comprising a previously formedneedle loop, and means holding an intermediate portion of such full turnaway from the thread of the needle loop and subsequently transferringsuch portion to a needle.

17. In a knitting machine, in combination, a needle mounted for verticaland lateral movement, means supporting a length of thread adjacent theneedle while the latter draws a lateral loop therein, through which loopanother length of thread is to be carried while the latter is held bythe needle, and means holding aside a bend in the second length ofthread to form a stitch engaged with the needle loop.

18. The method of knitting which includes the steps of knitting a courseof stitches a number of which are made of deficient length, drawing fromthe thread supply a sufficient length of thread to permit momentaryenlargement of one stitch thereof for the passage of the thread supplytherethrough, passing the thread supply twice in the same directionthrough such stitch, working this length through other stitches of thiscourse to permit successive momentary enlargement of such stitches andthe passage of the thread supply twice in the same direction througheach, and absorbing this length in such course by enlarging to the samesize as the rest of the stitches the number of stitches previously madedeficient in length.

HARRY D. ADAMS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,721,154 Huse July 16, 19291,852,936 Nebel Apr. 5, 1932 1,982,257 Levin Nov. 27, 1934 2,012,095Cole et al Aug. 20, 1935 2,069,021 Schuessler Jan. 26, 1937 2,083,301Jones June 8, 1937 2,114,021 Guay Apr. 12, 1938 2,217,272 Harris Oct. 8,1940 2,286,806 Hurd et a1 June 16, 1942 2,326,964 Nebel Aug. 17, 19432,330,199 Basch Sept. 28, 1943- OTHER REFERENCES (Principles ofKnitting, Max C. Miller, Mc- Graw-Hill, New York: 1931 (page 153).

